How B2B Web Analytics Can Help Your Social Media Campaigns

6/7/2014

How do you know if your social media program is really resonating with your audience? Which tweets have resulted in conversions on your website? Once your audience was on the site, where did they go, and what information were they looking for? These are all good questions to ask, and the answer is clear – set up an analytics strategy to track the goals that are most important to your B2B company’s business objectives.

I know what you’re thinking – this sounds too complicated. Can’t we just measure followers and the number of retweets we receive and call it a day? Yes, you can do that, but those numbers don’t really tell you the full story. For a more robust report, incorporating analytics will benefit your B2B company.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

Have a clear idea of what you want to measure. Sure, this sounds obvious, but a lot of people skip this important step. These key performance indicators (KPIs) should be tied to your business goals. KPIs are a set of measurable goals.

Once you know what you want to measure, set up how you are going to track these goals so everything is in place. This includes tagging all links that will drive traffic to your site. Whether you use Google Analytics, Omniture, or another program, it should all be consistent so it’s easy for you to gather the information when the time comes (weekly, monthly, quarterly).

Don’t feel like you need to track everything, just the results that are tied to your business objectives. Keeping it simple is important so you don’t feel overwhelmed, and so you stay focused.

Once you have this information, make it actionable. Use the insights you have from your analytics program to adapt and modify your messaging. For example, are there certain tweets that resulted in people visiting your website? Make note of these as they provide valuable feedback as to what information your audience wants to receive.

Analyze what you are seeing and think about overall recommendations and strategies. By not focusing on the tactics, you will greatly improve your marketing communications program. For example, if you notice that people who go to your company’s website from a blog post only stay on for a short time, this might mean you should think about refreshing your content to engage your audience.